Hearty Chicken Sausage, Roasted Pepper & Whole Wheat Orzo Soup Recipe: a hearty and healthy dinner option.
It's amazing what happens whenever I cook with sausages. Two boys, who conveniently disappear when I mention that it's time to clean their room, emerge from their nook-and-cranny hiding spaces as soon as the savory aroma reaches their twitching noses.
Of course, I have no choice but to pull out the bribing mum card at that point: "Go clean your room and you can have a few pieces of sausage." My two Tasmanian Devils speed off in a tornado of activity and...lo and behold...their room is clean in five minutes flat. Shocking!
If you like sausages as much as we do, and are partial to smoky roasted red peppers and tender orzo pasta, then this soup has your name written all over it. It couldn't be simpler to put together and this hearty soup boasts a mere 245 calories and 1.8 grams of saturated fat per serving.
Most flavored turkey or chicken sausage would work in this recipe. Just be sure to choose something that will mix well with roasted peppers. In other words, chicken and apple sausage might not be the way to go this time. But something with sun-dried tomato, artichoke or spinach would be a great option.
My friend Kalyn of Kalyn's kitchen highlighted these Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella Chicken Sausage with Artichokes and Garlic on her blog. Not only are they low in calories, fat and sugar, but they taste fantastic. Oh yeah, and they're also gluten-free and nitrite-free. Besides this soup, I used the sausages in a low-fat version of baked ziti that I will share with you soon.
Now, let's get down to business.
The recipe:
Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausages are starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in the same saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook until the onion is tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the roasted red peppers.
Add the bay leaves and chicken broth, bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil.
Add the whole wheat orzo, along with the cooked sausages, and cook until the orzo is al dente (according to package directions).
Remove the soup from the heat, stir in the parsley and basil, and serve.
Other recipes with orzo:
Healthy Mushroom, Orzo & Swiss Chard Soup Recipe {Vegetarian}
Chicken BLT (or Bacon, Spinach & Tomato) Pasta Salad Recipe
Printable Recipe
Hearty Chicken Sausage Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 2 flavored chicken sausages cut thinly into half-circles
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 whole 4 halves roasted red peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ⅔ cup whole wheat orzo pasta
- 3 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 4 large basil leaves thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausages are starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in the same saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook until the onion is tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the roasted red peppers.
- Add the bay leaves and chicken broth, bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil.
- Add the whole wheat orzo, along with the cooked sausages, and cook until the orzo is al dente (according to package directions).
- Remove the soup from the heat, stir in the parsley and basil, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Tiera C
I made this tonight, and it was a hit! I loved it. I used smoked chicken sausage, nothing fancy, and added some kale and carrots to this dish just to use up my veggies in the fridge. I loved it. And I loved that I needed to use little to no salt in this, I'm not much of a salt person anyways. Thanks for suggestion of this amazing dish! I shall experiment with more dishes!
Tiera
marla
Love this recipe! Will be linking back to this in my upcoming post 🙂
Karen Petersen
this looks great, Dara! I will have to try it. I've never eaten orzo before.
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
What a great, colorful soup. It looks even better in your bright blue bowl.
Angie
I'm making a variation on this tonight. When I saw you posted this I knew I had to make it. I'm gluten free so I'm substituting quinoa for the orzo (though I did love orzo in my gluten days) and I don't have chicken sausage but I have beef sausage to use up. Roasted some sweet potato to go along with the roasted red pepper, and I'm literally counting the minutes til it's done. I can't wait to make this with chicken sausage. Thanks for posting Dara!
Cindy at Kicking it In
Dara, this is exquisite - photograph and the recipe and its options! I have some orzo and just last week noted-to-self to get a clue on something I could do with it that EVERYONE 'round her will like. Jackpot! Thanks!
Becky at Vintage Mixer
I really love all of your soup and stew creations. Pinning this one to come back to soon!
Bob
This soup sounds so delicious. Haven't been able to find orzo here but will have to look harder.
Helene
It's hard to find orzo around here, I like it a lot, especially in salads. My son loves anything with sausages, I should try this recipe!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction
Love all of the flavors in this soup! Can't wait to try this!